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Netflix pulls down 'Patriot Act' episode criticizing MbS, draws ire

American streaming giant Netflix has pulled down an episode of Patriot Act, hosted by stand-up comedian Hasan Minhaj, for viewers in Saudi Arabia as it criticized crown prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS).

Saudi Arabia's Communications and Information Technology Commission alleged the episode violated cybercrime law against "material impinging on public order, religious values, public morals, and privacy."

Hasan made fun of the Kingdom's 'explanations'

Hasan, a Muslim himself, started by explaining the importance of the Kingdom to the Islamic community.

After establishing facts related to Mecca and other rituals, Hasan shed light on the botched up claims of the Kingdom.

He said the Saudis used a body double to prove Khashoggi left the building. Days later, the Kingdom accepted what the world knew: Khashoggi was dead.

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Hasan pointed out the excuses were unbelievable

"At one point they were saying he died in a fist fight, Jackie Chan-style. They went through so many explanations. The only one they didn't say was that Khashoggi died in a free solo rock-climbing accident," Hasan said and the audience laughed.

Topics

The Yemen crisis was spoken about too

Not restricting the episode to Khashoggi murder, Hasan dug deeper. He mentioned how Saudi royals were imprisoned, allegedly at the orders of MbS, and touched upon the Yemen crisis.

Apart from blaming MbS squarely for the loss of lives in Yemen, Hasan also questioned President of United States Donald Trump's stand.

But his harsh words weren't only meant for world leaders. He asked tech giants to stop relying on Saudi money.

Decision

Netflix says it pulled down episode after valid request

By the end of the 27-minute episode, 33-year-old Hasan educated masses about MbS, Yemen crisis and a lot more.

But the Kingdom found the episode flouted some rules and asked Netflix to pull it down. Notably, the episode is still available on YouTube in the Kingdom.

About the decision, Netflix said it supported artistic freedom but removed episode after receiving a 'valid request'.